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August 22, 2004 2:35 pm

Women's sculls finale disappointing

By ANN GREEN

Gannett News Service

SCHINIAS, Greece - It wasn't the storybook ending that U.S. rower Kelly Salchow had hoped for in the 2004 Olympics.

Salchow, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and her boatmates finished sixth Sunday in the final of the women's quadruple sculls at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center.

Germany led the 2,000-meter race from the start to take the gold with a time of 6:29.29. Great Britain took silver and Ukraine bronze, with Australia and Russia finishing in front of the Americans.

The U.S. women, who clocked a time of 6:39.67, saw the field surge ahead in the final 500 meters.

``We were pushing hard, making a lot of aggressive calls, but the boat just wasn't responding. Everybody was holding us off better than we could push it,'' Salchow said.

She added, ``If we're in the back of the pack and want to race into the pack, we make calls and up the power, the stroke rate. We did that, but the boat speed wasn't responding.''

Salchow and her boatmates - Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.), Hilary Gehman (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and Danika Holbrook (Durham, N.H.) - advanced to the medal race by a mere two-hundredths of a second.

The U.S. boat claimed the last spot in the final by beating the Danes in a second-chance race.

A seven-time senior national team member and two-time Olympian, the 30-year-old Salchow announced plans to retire after the Olympics.

Salchow is a graduate of Walnut Hills High and the University of Cincinnati. She earned an MFA degree in graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003.

After the 2000 games in Sydney, she returned to her hometown and worked at Kolar Design and coached girls in the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, where she got her start in rowing in 1989.

Asked if she had a message for the junior rowers back in her hometown, Salchow said, ``Whatever you do, be proud of it. Make sure the choices you make are ones you won't regret later.''

As for what's next for her, Salchow said, ``Teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute and rowing in my single on the weekends.''

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